Thunder on the Tundra
by donutkirby
Summary: The fall of Beacon wasn't the first time she'd lost a family. Nora has never told anyone about her past before, but now, she confides in Ren the full story of her life before she met him. [MonCon Oneshot]


**Thunder on the Tundra (MonCon June entry)**

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 **(For those who don't know, MonCon is a monthly competition for fanfictions and art. This is my second time entering, and if you like my story, I'd really appreciate it if you voted for me!)**

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"Hey, Nora?"

"Yeah, Ren? What is it?" Nora Valkyrie glanced at her friend curiously.

"You sure you're not cold in that skirt?" Ren asked, clad in a thick hand-knit sweater, as he buried himself deeper into the depths of his soft, oh-so-warm sleeping bag. Beside him, Jaune and Ruby were already fast asleep by the campfire. Ruby was snoring rather loudly.

Nora laughed cheerfully. "Oh please. This is nothing! I'm used to way colder than this lil' flurry. This won't even give me the sniffles. You, on the other hand, will need aaaalll the extra layers you can get!"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Ren smiled slightly, glancing up at the night sky. Snowflakes fell gently from above, touching and melting into the pure white snow on the ground. It was a beautiful sight. "Hey, Nora…"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Uh…" Ren looked away awkwardly, choosing his next words carefully. "I don't know if it's a good time, but...I'd like to know more about where you came from."

"Huh? That question sure came out of nowhere." Nora turned her head quizzically.

"Well, it's just...you never talked about your life before we met. I...never knew my parents, but you did, right? I've always wondered, how did, uh…"

Nora smiled. "Nah. It's fine. I don't mind talking about it at all. Actually, I've been wondering why it's taken you so long to ask."

"...I guess it just never came up. And well, now that we're not busy with homework anymore…" Ren gave a bitter laugh.

"...Alright then. Grab some marshmallows, Renny-boy, cause I'm about to tell you everything there is to know about my past." Nora took a deep breath. "Ooookay...where should I start...Oh, I know! Once upon a time…"

* * *

...there was a girl who lived in a small village that stood on the mountains, above the frozen plains of Mantle. Every day and every night, howling blizzards pierced the sky, encasing everything in a cold, white embrace. Even in the freezing depths of this hell, the far-reaching terror of the Grimm found their way to the village borders, and everyone lived in constant fear of them.

The girl didn't mind, though. She had people who cared about her, and so she was happy.

The girl was the daughter of a talented blacksmith, and she constantly helped out with his work. There was nothing she loved more than the satisfying 'smash' of her hammer grinding against hard metal. Her specialty was forging all sorts of weaponry, ranging from swords to shields to quivers, to supply the warriors who defended the village from Grimm attacks.

The girl had few friends, as there weren't many children in the village, and most adults viewed her as somewhat of an outcast.

Seven years ago, during a particularly monstrous snowstorm, lightning had struck the village for the first time in eons. It was a phenomenon few had ever heard of. The girl, little more than a toddler at the time, had been struck by a bolt of the destructive energy while wandering out on her own. When the villagers had found her lying motionless in the snow, they'd been astounded to see that she was completely unharmed.

From that day onward, people tended to avoid her. They didn't understand the strange phenomenon that had occurred on that fateful night, and people are always terrified of what they cannot understand.

But again, the girl didn't mind. Even if she had no friends, she had her family.

Her big brother was a brave-hearted and wise young man, unmatched in archery and swordsmanship skills, with aspirations of becoming a Huntsman, a dream that earned him no small amount of ridicule.

Her mother was warm and kind, always with a smile for everyone, and encouraged her to follow her dreams, even when the odds were stacked against her.

Her father, while stern, strict and distant to his children, cared for his loved ones greatly and worked every bone in his giant body to keep them well.

Hammering a brand-new steel necklace to perfection...Hearing the results of her brother's latest hunt...Telling extravagant stories about wild, imaginary animals over a warm fire...Those were happy days. Even with the Grimm, even with the bitter, unending cold...for the girl, it was the closest one could come to true bliss.

But of course, that never lasts. One day, something terrible happened. The girl's mother fell ill. She wasn't the only one. A contagious epidemic, no doubt passing through the tundra on the cold Northern winds, had infested the village. Before anyone knew what had happened, over a quarter of their population had caught the sickness. Families were torn apart as orphans and widows sobbed over the corpses of their loved ones. People were dying faster than the gravediggers could work.

The girl's mother was only one of many. Despite everyone's best efforts, the illness took her life within a week. Her children barely had enough time to mourn before their father caught the sickness, too. With him bedridden, left with hardly the strength to get up in the morning, the girl was left to take over his entire workshop. She endured the backbreaking labour for hours on end, while she and her brother took turns to be by their father's side, and tend to his needs.

It was a time of despair like nothing the girl had ever known. But she had a will of iron, and resolved to make it through no matter what. She had to think positively. And so, when her customers came by asking for her to repair their broken doors, tables and utensils, or even just to borrow some of the family's medicine to treat the illness, she always obliged with a smile and an energetic nod. She came up with a special greeting for every person who passed by the shop. Often, pretending to be happy for long periods of time left her feeling genuinely at ease, and once or twice her customers would even leave with a spring in their step. It was the best way for her to cope.

One day, her brother came to her with a suggestion.

"Hey, Nora, you got a minute?" he asked, walking over to her.

"Huh? What is it, Tyler?" Ten-year old Nora Valkyrie looked up from her workbench. "Shouldn't you be looking after Daddy right now?"

"Already gave him the medicine. He'll be asleep for at least a couple hours, which means he won't be grumpily chewing my ass out," her brother sighed comically. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Tyler Valkyrie was only fifteen but looked far older, with his tall, rigid stature and muscular bulk. Had he lived in one of the Four Kingdoms, he would have had girls falling for him left and right. "Here's the thing," he spoke in a gruff but amiable voice. "I overheard the village elders a few hours ago. Turns out our supply of medicinal herbs is running low. Dangerously low. As in, it'll probably be gone by the end of the month."

"What?" Nora nearly dropped her hammer in shock. "That's horrible! How are we gonna treat the infected when we're out of medicine?"

"Well, we might not have to," Tyler explained. "Thing is, there's actually an area outside the village where that specific herb grows-plentifully, in fact. I've seen it from a distance during my hunts. The only problem is that it's also a huge hotspot for Grimm activity, so we're forbidden to approach it. But-"

"We're going." Nora stood up, her eyes wide with determination. "If it means we can save our village, the risks don't matter! This could be our best hope!"

Tyler smiled. "My thoughts exactly. I'm the best fighter we've got, and I know you can swing that hammer like a pro, so together we should be able to handle any Grimm that come after us! C'mon, let's get going-we'll need to finish before sunset."

Stealthily, two of them made their way past the guards by the gate and exited the village grounds. Even through the blizzard, Tyler could make out the location of the field they were looking for. "That way," he declared, pointing confidently in the northwest direction. Bearing the snow and freezing cold, they slowly trotted towards their destination.

Nora's eyes widened. "Whoa…" she murmured. In the middle of the snowy fields was a small patch of land, where bright green plants decorated with beautiful lilac bulbs grew by the dozen. "This is it, huh?" "Sure is," Tyler nodded, glancing around. "Hmm-hmm, looks like it's our lucky day, sis. I don't see any Grimm around today. Still, we should hurry and pick as many as we can."

The two of them quickly got to work. Grunting, Nora pulled out a batch of herbs from the semi-frozen soil. She glared at her brother, who was pulling them out with ease. "How do you make it look so easy?"

"Oh? Is it not easy for you?" Tyler grinned back. "I can't imagine this is any harder than bashing a piece of iron for three hours."

Nora scowled at him. "Like you would know anything about that! Besides, how do these things grow so healthily in all this snow? Most plants would've died in conditions like this!"

"Beats me." Tyler shrugged. The village elders love to write it off as some 'divine providence' or whatever. But if you really want my opinion? Probably some sort of genes in their bodies that develop over generations that make 'em resistant to the cold. I think that's really nice to think about, actually-over time, they persevered and became able to overcome obstacles that no one else could."

Nora just rolled her eyes. "Well, look who's trying to sound all smart and wise. Sorry buster, I think you're just talking out your ass again."

"Ah, you got me." Tyler grinned. Nora grinned back at him. It just dawned on her that this was the first time in years that the two of them had worked together on something. It was a very uplifting feeling...for them to feel like a family again, after their mother's death.

They continued picking the herbs for about an hour before Tyler tied up his bag. "Well, I think we're done here, so why don't we get ba-" Suddenly, his eyes widened, looking at someone behind his sister.

"Wh-what? Is it a Grimm?" Nora looked behind her. In the distance, she could see a strange creature vanishing into the snow. It was a gigantic wolf, with a light brown mane. "That's...a dire wolf?" she gasped.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah...those things are really rare around here. Stories say they were thought to be extinct for thousands of years...Apparently, they're said to be quite the delicacy." He glanced nervously at Nora. "Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Huh?" You're...not thinking of hunting that thing, are you?"

"Why not?" Tyler smiled, a flash of adventure in his eyes. "We still have some time left before sunfall...and I think the village deserves a nice feast as a reward for all they've been through the past few weeks. What do you say, sis? You up for it?"

"Well…" Nora hesitated for a moment. On one hand, she knew they had to get back to the village as soon as possible, and this would only increase their chances of being late. However, the idea of going on a hunt with her brother was undoubtedly appealing. After several moments of thought, she nodded. "Alright! But let's make it quick, okay?"

Tyler grinned. "You got it. Let's go, sis."

Clutching her hammer and her bag of herbs, Nora ran after her brother in the direction of the dire wolf. Finally, they saw the creature preying on the corpse of a small deer in the middle of a clearing. "There we go," Tyler whispered. "Let's kill it before it notices us." Putting down his bag, he pulled out his quiver, and fired an arrow at his prey.

The dire wolf's ears perked up. With a growl, it darted out of the way of the arrow. "Okay, that didn't work! Looks like we're doing this the hard way!" Tyler yelled. He put his bow away and charged at the wolf, unsheathing his sword. Dodging the dire wolf's lunging strike, he slashed off a chunk of its back fur. Howling in pain, the wolf retaliated by throwing itself on top of him with all its might, forcing him to the ground.

"Take this!" Nora dropped her bag and ran at the dire wolf, striking it in the side with her hammer. The wolf fell over on its back. Grunting, Tyler picked himself up, and plunged his blade into the beast's exposed chest. The dire wolf gave a weak growl before going still. "Nicely done," he panted.

"Thanks," Nora smiled. "Y'know, being a blacksmith is fun and all, but I've always wanted to be a Huntsman as well. Killing monsters and all that." "You got good taste in occupations, sis," Tyler grinned, hoisting the wolf's body over his shoulder. "C'mon, we need to get back home as soon as possible."

It was easier said than done; carrying their weapons, their medicine bags, and their fresh-kill all at the same time proved to be an arduous labour. By the time they were halfway to the village, the sun had already set, and the sky was darkening rapidly.

"Damn, this is taking forever," Tyler grumbled anxiously. "But we can't leave any of this behind; hopefully Dad'll forgive us once he sees our findings." He paused. "Wait. Do you hear that?"

"Huh? What?" Nora paused. Over the howling blizzard, she could hear a faint growling noise. Several of them, in fact. A strange feeling of dread was building up inside her. "Quietly," Tyler muttered, and she nodded. The two of them walked slowly in the direction of the noise. For a second, the snow stopped falling, leaving the dark skies clear. Nora let out a gasp of horror. "No…"

A horde of Grimm, far more than she had ever seen, was making their way in the direction of the village. Small, ugly Creeps and Ursas, with giant ferocious Beowolves and Goliaths leading the pack. Griffons were flying in the skies above. Even from her distance, Nora could see that their eyes were filled with unquenchable bloodlust.

"So that's why there weren't any at the fields…." Tyler murmured, his hands shaking. "I'm so stupid...I forgot that Grimm are attracted to negativity-and with our village dying and running low on medicine...we might as well have had a giant glowing sign on the gate saying "Grimm, please attack us.""

"We need to get back and warn them!" Nora yelled. "Forget about the food and the herbs, this many Grimm will kill everyone!"

Tyler nodded grimly. "Yeah...sucks that all our hard work was a waste, but we've got priorities. They're not headed for the front entrance. Let's get back that way!"

Dropping everything except their weaponry, the two siblings ran as fast as their legs could take them. After what seemed like forever, they reached the front gate to their hometown. "Everyone!" Tyler yelled, throwing the gates open. "We've got a huge problem!"

"You're goddamn right, we have a problem." Tyler and Nora's father, Orion Valkyrie, was stomping his feet angrily as he made his way towards his children, his eyes bloodshot, and face red with disease. All the other villagers had turned to watch the scene. "Where in the HELL have you two been?"

"We went out to re-fill our medicine supplies," Nora stammered. "But on our way back we-"

"Then why do you have NOTHING to show for it, eh?" Orion snarled, before breaking out into a violent cough, staining the snow with drops of blood. "Come back with me, both of you. You're not going to be leaving home again anytime soon." With surprising strength, he grabbed Nora and Tyler by the shoulder and dragged them, protesting, towards their hut.

Inside their house, Nora and Tyler tried desperately to reason with their father. "Dad, please!" Nora begged him. "We're not making this up! There's an army of Grimm heading for the village right now! We'll be overrun!"

Her father narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you. I'm telling you, young lady, that I am NOT accepting any excuses."

"It's NOT an 'excuse', Dad!" Tyler spat at him. He had always had an unstable relationship with his father. "We need to warn everyone in the village and evacuate them before it's too late!"

Orion scowled. "Don't give me that shit, Tyler. I know you were out on one of your stupid ADVENTURES yet again. You should have just grown up to be a merchant or a scribe, but instead you risk your life to be a 'hero'. And this time, you even dragged your sister into it. You should be ashamed of yourself-both of you." He slapped Tyler across the cheek. Nora winced at the sight.

"I'll have to lock you two in your rooms for tonight-can never be too careful," he muttered, rubbing his hands together. "In the morning, we will talk more about th-" A loud crashing noise interrupted his tirade. "What was that?" he growled. "Sounded like-"

He was cut off yet again, this time by the piercing screech of a Griffon as its head crushed the roof of the small house. Tyler quickly put his body over Nora, shielding her from the falling debris. Screeching again, the Nevermore lashed out and chomped down on Orion's arm as he stood there, frozen in fear. Nora's father screamed in pain as the avian monstrosity elevated his struggling form out of the wreckage of the ceiling.

"D-dad…" Nora whimpered, shaking in terror. Outside, she could now hear the villagers screaming, their cries for help drowned out by an uproar of primal howls and snarls. The Grimm had come. "Oh, Ragnarok, just take me now…" Tyler gritted his teeth. "We were too late! But if we run now, we can hopefully get away with our lives! Come on, sis!" He held out his hand.

Nodding furiously, Nora took her brother's hand and got up with what little strength she could muster. The only door leading out of the house was tightly locked thanks to Orion. With a grunt, Nora swung her hammer, knocking the door clean off its hinges. The two siblings stepped out and took in the horrid scene before them.

Grimm were crawling all over the village. The sky was filled with the screams of terrified villagers as they ran for their lives, only to be overtaken and torn apart by the black monstrosities. The snow-covered ground was painted a haunting shade of crimson. Corpses of the elderly, the young, and even infants were strewn everywhere. It looked like the end of the world itself.

"We…need to hurry," Tyler murmured, averting his eyes from the sight. "We can't...there's nothing we can do to help them-we'll just get ourselves killed, too." He ran for the gate, practically dragging Nora behind him, as all her senses seemed to fade away into terror.

Several Grimm noticed the pair running and lunged at them, but Tyler struck them all down with his sword. They ran into other swordsmen desperately defending themselves against the onslaught, but they were all slain. When they reached the gate, they heard a familiar voice call out to them in agony: "Nora! Tyler! Help...me!" Turning back, they could see their father, about fifty feet from them, being dragged away by an Ursa, his body mangled and riddled with scars.

"Dad! We need to-" Snapping back to her senses, Nora prepared to run to her father's side.

Tyler held out his arm firmly. "No. It's too dangerous."

"But...we have to do something!"

Tyler paused for a moment, then sighed. A single tear fell down his cheek. Pulling out his bow, he silently aimed an arrow and fired it right into his father's head. Orion's body stopped struggling and went completely limp.

"Ty…" Nora murmured, horrified.

"...Nothing else I could've done," Tyler muttered under his breath, looking at if he was convincing himself as much as her. "And a single arrow couldn't kill an Ursa of that size." He opened his mouth as if to say more, but couldn't. He simply grabbed Nora's arm and they ran, as fast as they could, from what had once been their home.

They didn't make it far before some Grimm caught up to them. Looking back, Nora saw an Ursa charging towards them, growling. They wouldn't be able to outrun it. "Tyler!" she yelled. "On it!" Stopping, Tyler turned around and drew his sword, preparing to engage the beast in battle. Nora took the opportunity to stop and catch her breath, trying to block out the horrible things she'd just seen.

 _Just...think of happy things,_ she panted. _Be happy. Be happy. Be ha-_

"NORA! WATCH OUT!" Tyler screamed all of a sudden. Looking up, Nora saw the Griffon from before lunging at her from the sky with its massive claws. Too scared to dodge out of the way, Nora could only raise her hands in a weak defense, waiting for the bird to sear her flesh with pain and tear off the skin from her arms.

The Nevermore's strike made impact, knocking Nora into the snow. However, while it indeed hurt like a thousand hells, when Nora looked, her arms were completely fine. "What…?" she gasped.

The pain was fading away far faster than she thought it would. Getting up, she felt a strange sense of adrenaline rushing through her. It was like thunder and lightning were coursing through her very muscles.

"Nora…" Tyler stared at her, mystified. The Ursa lay dead at his feet, disintegrating into nothingness. "You're...glowing…?"

"Huh?" Confused, Nora looked down at herself. Sure enough, her body was glowing with a strange golden light. After a second, she realized the energy running through her body wasn't just a sensation-blue sparks of lightning were radiating from her hands, running into her hammer. She felt a wonderful burst of strength, like she could take on anything.

Cawing, the Griffon swooped back down for another strike. Without flinching, Nora swung her hammer as it glowed with electrical energy. It struck the great bird with such brute force that its head snapped clean off the rest of its body and landed in the snow. The Griffon's corpse began to fade away. "What did I just do?" Nora murmured, still marveling at her newfound strength.

"I think that was...your Aura," Tyler said, walking over to her. "The legends say it's a manifestation of your soul, granting you extraordinary abilities and shielding your body. Not many people are capable of awakening it. I've been trying for years without any luck, but you…" He shook his head with a reluctant smile. "Heh, I guess you're just a natural, sis."

More growling came from in the distance. "Let's keep going," Nora said. This whole Aura thing was a lot to take in, but it could wait for later. And it was certainly helpful in a situation like this.

Nora and Tyler continued running. They ran until they were sure their legs would fall off. Then they'd run even harder. Whenever some Grimm caught up with them, the siblings fought them off. Fighting alongside her elder brother was truly exhilarating, despite the circumstances. Nora couldn't help but force a grin at her own strength.

After an hour, they were as far away from home as they'd ever been. They were at the very bottom of the majestic mountain where their home had stood. "How much...longer...hah...do we have to run…?" Nora gasped, completely out of breath. "Don't...know," Tyler grunted. "One of the four Kingdoms, Atlas, should be in this direction. If we can make it that far, we-"

Suddenly, a dark creature leapt down from the mountainside, landing directly in front of the siblings, blocking their way. It was a Grimm, but it was far larger than the ones they'd seen before. In the Kingdoms it was known as an Alpha Beowolf, and was greatly feared among Huntsmen. Nora and Tyler slowly backed away from it. "Okay," Tyler muttered. "Let's work together and-" Before he could finish, a second Alpha Beowolf leapt down, snarling, right next to the first. Then came a third. "Oh...shit."

"We gotta get through them!" Nora yelled, raising her hammer as energy coursed through it. She smashed an Alpha right in the chest. The beast growled in pain, and swung its arm at her, knocking her down. "Ugh!" she grunted. The other two Alphas, taking advantage of her moment of weakness, ganged up on her and pounded her into the snow over and over. Nora screamed in pain, as she felt her Aura's protection fading away.

"Nora!" Tyler ran to protect his sister, stabbing one of the Alphas in the back. Snarling, all three of them turned to him. The largest one lunged at him with terrifying speed. Dodging the strike, Tyler retaliated with a series of swift stabs. Another Alpha swung its armored fist, slugging him right in the face. Tyler fell to the ground, but quickly picked himself back up, wincing at his now bloodied nose.

"No…" Nora struggled to get up. All the strength that her Aura had given her was now gone completely. She could barely lift her hammer anymore. "I have...to help him…"

"Stay back, sis!" Tyler yelled as the Alpha swung its arm at him again. This time, it struck him in the chest. A sharp crack was heard as several of his ribs were forcibly snapped. Tyler fell down again. The Alpha approached him, raising its arm for the final blow.

"Tyler!" Nora screamed, trying desperately to make her feet move again.

With a grunt, Tyler pulled himself up, and, with a Herculean effort, swung his sword and lopped off the beast's arm. As it howled in pain, the young man thrust the blade into its exposed neck. With a hateful, gurgling cry, the Alpha Beowolf went still and faded into nothingness.

However, there were still two more Alphas to contend with. No longer paying attention to the weaker sibling, they both moved ominously towards Tyler, who slowly backed away, raising his sword while wincing from his injuries. "Nora!" He yelled. "Run! I...I can handle this!"

"Don't say that!" Nora snapped. "They'll kill you! I can't lose you, too! I can help you!"

"No you can't, and you know it! You don't want to die here, do you? So run and live!" He smiled painfully at his sister. "When you get to...well, wherever you end up, try out being a Huntress, alright? I'm sure you'll be good enough for the both of us."

"I...I…" Deep down, Nora knew he was right. Fighting back tears, she turned and, mustering all her strength, ran away as fast as she could. Once she was a safe distance away, she turned back.

The two Alphas were advancing on her brother, pummeling him ruthlessly. Tyler Valkyrie fought back with his sword, head held high, his eyes radiant with the spirit of the finest of Huntsmen...as he savoured his final hunt.

* * *

How long had she been running? Nora had lost track of time. Her only indication was the fact that the great clouds above were slowly giving way to a clear, orange-red sky. Dawn was coming. And far in the distance was what she had been looking for. The buildings of a large city...the Kingdom of Atlas.

Nora had run so long she'd lost all sensation in her legs. Her foot stumbled on a rock in the path, and she didn't even notice until she was lying in the snow. Normally, she'd feel the unbearable cold of the frozen matter against her skin, but she felt nothing at all. The only pain she felt was the sharp pangs in her stomach.

 _So hungry.._.she thought feverishly. She hadn't eaten anything since last morning-a fresh loaf of bread Tyler had baked for her. Had that really happened? That felt like eons ago now, almost as if it was a moment in someone else's life.

She heard a familiar growl. A single Grimm was approaching her motionless form. It was a mere Creep, the smallest and weakest of Grimm, yet in her condition, she was unable to defend herself against it. Groaning, Nora tried to get up, but this time she was truly and genuinely exhausted. She couldn't move a single muscle in her body. Her vision was slowly fading. _Am I...going to die here?_ It was really a pathetic way to die-finished off by a measly Creep, just when she was so close to her goal.

Suddenly, a curved, green knife flew into the Creep's backside. The creature slumped over, dead. A young boy moved into Nora's point of view, extracting his weapon from the Creep's fading corpse. "Are you alright?" he asked anxiously.

The boy was probably around her age. He had dark hair, pale magenta eyes and a green tailcoat that looked quite good on him. Nora tried to respond, but her voice was failing her.

The boy stared at her in confusion for a moment, wondering why she was silent. "Well...you look very hungry, at least." Reaching into his pocket, the boy brought out a small, flat cake. The sweet aroma of freshly baked dough reached Nora's nostrils.

Instantly, all her energy returned to Nora's body. Without even thinking, she lunged at her unfortunate saviour, snatched the cake out of his hands, and promptly devoured it. "Munch, munch, munch…" It was the greatest thing she'd ever tasted in her life. Within seconds, it was gone. She looked the boy right in the eye and said: "More."

"Th-that was my last pancake!" The boy said indignantly.

"Pancake? What's a pancake?" Nora asked, confused. She could still feel the sweet, warm taste of the cake on her tongue.

The boy stared at her. "You don't...know what a pancake is? Where are you from, anyway?"

Nora gestured vaguely behind her. "I lived...in the mountains," she started. "With my brother and…" The memory of Tyler's sacrifice came back to her as she said that, and, overwhelmed with emotion, she fell to the ground sobbing.

"Oh...okay. I think I get it." The boy smiled sadly at her. Nora noted that his gentle smile reminded her somewhat of Tyler. The realization made her feel strangely better. "You're…'alone', aren't you? So am I."

He held out his hand to her. "Well, I do have a bit of Lien left...I guess I'll treat you to some breakfast. There's a nice pancake place over on Krios Avenue that I think you might like." He paused for a moment. "Oh right. My name is Ren. What's yours?"

"I'm Nora." She took Ren's hand. "Nora Valkyrie."

And so the rest is history. For the next seven years, Nora and Ren wandered around the continent of Remnant, taking odd jobs for Lien to support themselves. They trained with their weaponry and learned to use their Aura more effectively. Nora learned to use Dust, and found she was extraordinarily proficient with it.

With the Lien they earned from years of taking freelance hunting missions, they built newer, stronger weapons. Nora named her new hammer 'Magnhild', after a legend she'd heard about a mighty weapon wielded by a god. Ren forged a pair of fashionable automatic pistols, with his favourite green blades attached to them. Nora affectionately nicknamed them 'Storm Flowers', until Ren gave in and started calling them that, too.

Finally, the two of them had been able to enter the famed Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale. It was a dream come true for Nora. Aside from Ren, she made even more friends there. A young man with ambitions beyond his skills, a woman who cared not that she was the school's star student, but that she was kind to all she met…

Nora was happy there. But as she'd learned once already, happiness was temporary. And indeed, once again, that happiness had been snatched away from her.

But this time, there was something she could do about it.

* * *

"...And that's...the end of my story," Nora smiled at Ren.

"Is this...all true?" Ren asked her, eyes widened in surprise.

Nora nodded. "Yep. Sure is."

"I see…" Ren looked down at his lap. "So that's why...you act all happy and bubbly around everyone, right? To hide the pain of what happened to you, right?"

"..." Nora didn't respond.

"You don't have to do that. You have us, always. We understand that what you went through w-"

"What the heck are you talking about, Ren?" Nora burst out laughing. She couldn't help it.

"E-eh?"

"I wasn't 'acting' happy, silly," she grinned at her friend. "I WAS happy. The time we spent at Beacon was the best thing in my whole life. Hunting, taking classes, fighting in the cafeteria...I loved every moment of it."

"But…" Ren stammered. "Your family…"

"Yeah...I lost my family. My dad, my brother…" Nora nodded. "But I found a new family, didn't I? You. And Jaune, and Pyrrha, and everyone else. I love all of you like real brothers and sisters! You know that, right?"

"Hah...I guess so." Ren smiled awkwardly at her. "Hey, can I ask...what was Tyler like?"

"Hmm...well, he was really kind. Kind, but strong. He believed in justice, and would always stand up for those weaker than him. Heh, but he always loved to act way smarter than he actually was." Nora grinned. "I think...you and him would get along great."

"I'm glad to hear that." Smiling, Ren pulled up the zipper on his sleeping bag. "Well, tomorrow's going to be another tough day for us. Good night, Nora."

Nora smiled back. "Good night, Ren."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, everyone!**

 **I feel like Nora and Ren's backstories have a lot of potential, and this is my take on Nora. Hope you all like it!**


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